Peruvian Immortal

The Peruvian Immortal is the name given to a spectacular chess game played by the Peruvian master (later grandmaster) Esteban Canal against an unknown amateur in a simultaneous exhibition he gave at Budapest in 1934. In just 14 moves, Canal sacrificed both his rooks and his queen, finishing with Boden’s mate.

Du Mont calls it, « A charming game. » Irving Chernev writes, « In 13 moves, Canal sacrifices both Rooks and his Queen—and then mates on his 14th move! … A man might play a million games of chess and never duplicate Canal’s feat. » Fred Reinfeld writes, « When Anderssen sacrificed two Rooks, the Queen etc. against Kieseritzky, the finished product was described as « the immortal game. » It might be more accurate to call it « an immortal game, for since that time there have been many claimants to the title. Not the least deserving is [this] little gem, on which Canal may have lavished something less than five minutes. The game has the blazing quality of a Liszt improvisation. » Here is the game:

Canal- N.N., Budapest 1934
Center Counter Game

1.e4 d52.exd5 Qxd53.Nc3 Qa54.d4 c65.Nf3 Bg46.Bf4 e67.h3 Bxf38.Qxf3 Bb49.Be2 Nd710.a3 O-O-O ??
In another book, Reinfeld writes, « Black mistakenly thinks that 11.axb4 is out of the question. But White, seeing further ahead and relying on his excellent attacking position, has a stunning surprise continuation. » Iakov Neishtadt writes, « Black is convinced that his opponent cannot take the Bishop. This would indeed have been the case if he had played not 10…0-0-0, but 10…Ngf6. » Seirawan and Minev advise, « Motto: Think twice before castling on the Queenside! »